EC seeks report on Amit Shah's 'firecrackers' comment

Patna: Acting on a complaint lodged against BJP national president Amit Shah's 'firecrackers in Pakistan' comment, the state election office yesterday sought report from the returning officer on the remark.

"We have sought report from district magistrates of East and West Champaran regarding the remark of BJP President Amit Shah," Additional Chief Electoral Officer R Lakshmanan told reporters here.

The two officers have been asked to submit the report at the earliest and the election office would decide action based on their reports. Shah had told an election rally at Raxual on Indo-Nepal border in East Champaran district on Thursday that if BJP loses in Bihar Diwali will be celebrated in Pakistan.

He is said to have repeated the same in another rally at Bettiah, headquarter of West Champaran district on Thursday itself. East Champaran and West Champaran have 12 and nine assembly seats respectively and would be going to the polls in the fourth phase on November 1.

A RJD delegation had submitted a memorandum to the Bihar Election Office against Shah's comment and also some advertisements issued by BJP in newspapers here on October 28 and October 29 which it alleged were 'misleading, highly inflammatory and polarising'.

JD(U), Congress and RJD partners in the grand secular alliance, had also knocked the doors of the Election Commission against Shah in Delhi.